UCI Health is expanding again, agreeing to buy four hospitals that make up Tenet Healthcare Corp.‘s Pacific Coast Network for $975 million.
The facilities include Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, Los Alamitos Medical Center, Placentia-Linda Hospital and Lakewood Regional Medical Center.
Pending regulatory approvals, the hospitals and their associated clinics will become part of UC Irvine’s healthcare system. The deal was approved by the UC Board of Regents and is expected to close later this spring.
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Tenet’s Chief Executive Officer Saum Sutaria in a statement said the company’s Pacific Coast Network “will be in good hands under the new ownership.”
UCI expands again
The deal marks another significant expansion for UCI Health, which includes a medical center in Orange and a network of specialty care centers.
In 2021, UCI Health CEO Chad Lefteris said UCI Medical Center was “essentially full all the time” and had limited space for inpatients.
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To further its reach, the university launched work on a $1 billion medical complex next to its main campus, approved by UC Regents in 2021. UC Irvine Medical Center Irvine-Newport, a multi-building complex on 202 acres with a 144-bed hospital and emergency room, will offer specialty care in oncology, neurosciences, children’s health and other areas. It’s expected to open in 2025.
UCI also added the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, which debuted in 2022. The institute was made possible by Orange County philanthropists Henry Samueli and his wife, the building namesake, who donated $200 million to create the school.
Employee unrest
The acquisition comes amid ongoing labor disputes by union employees at many hospitals across Southern California. Most of the protests center on wage and staffing issues, a…
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